1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water purifying device for tap service, and more particularly to a water purifying device which can be installed within the counter area of a kitchen sink.
2. Prior Art
Many types of water purifying devices produce what is called "tasty water", which resembles natural spring water. One example of such a current device is shown in FIG. 7.
In the device shown in FIG. 7, the housing 1 made of a formed ABS resin cylinder is equipped with a water inlet joint 2 at the lower side which connects with a water hose 16. At the top of the center of the housing 1, a faucet 3 is attached. This configuration allows the device to be utilized as a table-top water purifier.
FIG. 8 illustrates the inner structure of the device. Inside the housing 1 is a detachable cartridge type purifying material container 7 which includes double-layered coaxial cylinders, the outer cylinder 4 and the inner cylinder 6. The top end of both the cylinder wall 4a of the outer cylinder 4 and the cylinder wall 6a of the inner cylinder 6 is commonly closed with a cap type upper cover plate 9. The bottom end of the cylinder wall 4a of the outer cylinder 4 is closed with a cap type lower cover plate 8. At the top portion of the cylinder wall 4a, connection holes 10 to the housing 1 are perforated.
High purity active carbon 11, made from coconut shells, serves as the water purifying material and is packed in the space between the outer cylinder 4 and the inner cylinder 6.
The bottom end of the cylinder wall 6a of the inner cylinder 6 is closed with a cap type lower end plate 12. At the bottom portion of the cylinder wall 6a, the connection holes 13 to the outer cylinder 4 are perforated. The lower part of the inside of inner cylinder 6 is packed with high purity active carbon 11 made from coconut shells.
A filter 14 lies on the layer of high purity active carbon 11, and silver-somelite 15, which is crushed natural coral sand coated with silver, is separately packed by the filter 14. Another filter 14 is placed on the layer of the silver-somelite 15, and the upper space inside of the inner cylinder 6 is connected to the faucet 3 which penetrates the upper cover plate 9.
When the water inlet joint 2 is connected with the water hose 16, and tap water is introduced into the housing 1, as indicated by the arrow marks, the water flows up inside of the housing 1, enters the inside of the outer cylinder 4 via the connection holes 10, flows down along the inside of the outer cylinder 4 and passes through the high purity active carbon layer 11. Then, the water enters the inner cylinder 6 through the connection holes 13 and successively passes through the high purity active carbon layer 11, the filter 14, the layer of silver-somelite 15, and another filter 14. Finally, the water flows out from the inner cylinder 6 and is supplied for service from the faucet 3.
While flowing through the passage, impurities in the water, such as residual chlorine, mal-odor kalk, and carcinogenic trihalomethane, are left in the high purity active carbon 11, the filters 14, and somelite 15, and the water is further purified in passage by sterilization of harmful microorganisms such as bacteria.
Conventional water purifying devices as described above include a cartridge type water purifying material container including coaxial outer and inner cylinders, and each of which is packed with a water purifying material. Compared with a single-cylinder structure, the double cylinder device as described above offers a larger contact area. Nevertheless, the contact area in conventional devices is insufficient for satisfactory water purification.
Furthermore, the performance of the water purifying material container tends to decrease within a relatively short period of time, and the frequency with which the container cartridge must be replaced is high. In addition, most conventional devices have the disadvantage of occupying a large amount of space on a kitchen counter, because they are table-top models.